THE NEW PROPOSED CRIME AND POLICING BILL
A FOCUS ON ENTER AND SEARCH IN RELATION TO PHONE SNATCHING / THEFT
London’s reputation for phone snatching may have just overtaken Big Ben’s reputation for being one of the city’s most recognisable features. Whether you live in the city or just visiting, you are most certainly warned about the rise in mobile phone theft. This has become so alarming that a new change to police power is being introduced in England and Wales aimed at strengthening legal measures.
The Proposed Bill
The Crime and Policing Bill 2025 proposes significant changes to police powers. One of the key changes would allow police officers to enter and search premises without a court-issued warrant, provided the following conditions are met:
- There are reasonable grounds to believe that a stolen phone, electronically tagged, is on the premises;
- Authorisation is given by a senior officer (of at least inspector rank); and
- The action is deemed necessary to prevent the loss or destruction of evidence.
This change is intended to enable the police to recover stolen property more swiftly, avoiding delays that might otherwise compromise investigations.
However, this raises important questions: Is this proposal a fair and proportionate response to a growing problem? Will it disincentives theft or address its root causes? And most importantly, how will it affect the right to privacy?
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 generally prevents the police from entering a property without a warrant. However, there are exceptions, such as when an arrest is made and the search is incidental to that arrest, or in urgent situations where obtaining a warrant would hinder the investigation.
Under the proposed bill, any use of search and entry powers must be authorised by a police officer of at least inspector rank, whereas the current law requires authorisation from the court. The rationale behind this change is to allow officers to act during the so-called “golden hour” of an investigation, the critical period immediately following a crime when the chances of recovering evidence are highest. In this context, it enables police to search locations where stolen phones have been electronically tracked before the device can be reformatted or its data wiped.
In short, the police require a warrant to search a property or seize stolen goods, which protects an individual’s right to privacy. However, under the proposed new law, this right may no longer be protected in the same way.
Conclusion
Will it actually deter theft and help tackle the rising number of phone thefts? Possibly. However, the right to privacy remains a fundamental principle and may ultimately override the purpose of this expanded power.
The bill is currently at its second reading in the House of Lords and is expected to come into force by the end of this year. Whether the priority should be tackling phone theft or upholding
the right to privacy remains an open question. Will this new power override everyone’s right to privacy? That will only become clear once the law is enacted and put into practice.
YU Qi Leong is a paralegal working in our highly regarded Serious Crime Defence department.
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